Marion board approves prayers at meetings

By David DeKunder :
November 19, 2012

Marion Independent School District board of trustees have opened the door for prayers at their meetings.

Marion trustees Nov. 14 voted 5-2 to allow the district to invite local religious leaders or representatives to lead the board in prayer, possibly starting with the January meeting. Currently, the board starts its meetings with a moment of silence.

Interim Superintendent Mario Sotelo said the district will start sending letters to churches within its boundaries, inviting them to send a minister, priest or representative to participate.

Depending on which churches respond to the invitations, Sotelo said the district intends to rotate church participation. “It depends on how fast they respond,” Sotelo said. “The first responder will get the first spot.”

Board President Marie Paiz said trustees have looked into the legalities of allowing prayers at their meetings since September. “We think it would be a nice way to start our meeting ... to have a minister or priest just start us on the right foot.”

Paiz said the new prayer guidelines are not meant to pick one faith or religion over another.

“We have a set of guidelines where we will allow every church in the Marion ISD to sign up for a date that they would like to give an invocation,” she said. “If we are doing it that way, we are not promoting one religion over another. Everyone has equal opportunity.”

Trustees Victor Contreras and Joe Peck voted against the prayer guidelines. While not against having prayers at meetings, Contreras said the district needs to deal with other pressing issues first, including renovations and improvements at school campuses and conducting a search for a new superintendent.

Contreras is also concerned the district may face legal action over having prayers at meetings.

“I think we have too much on our plate,” Contreras said. “We may have to go through litigation with it. We are opening ourselves up for that, I think.”

Contreras said he wanted to get the thoughts of a new superintendent, which the board is hoping to select by April, on the issue before proceeding.

In other business, the board rejected a proposal by Peck to extend board terms from three to four years. Peck made a motion to move the board terms to four years, but the proposal died for a lack of a second motion.